Singapore: In a tournament which has exceeded all expectations, World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan was forced to dig deep to beat World No. 9 Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 10-21, 21-19, 21-13 to win his second Singapore Open title.
Momota seemed not used to the barrage of smashes from Ginting in the first set, quickly trailed 4-13 before surrendering the game in 18 minutes as Ginting was finding both corners of the court in the first set.
Fortunately, the Japanese player managed to shrug off another slow start in the second set, coming from 11-16 to force a decider by taking the second set in 31 minutes.
The World No. 1 was clearly not at his best in the third set, as he was trailed with 2-7, 8-12. Momota suddenly found his rhythm half way through the decider, reeling off nine consecutive points to go from 8-12 to lead at 17-12. The left-hander only allowed Ginting to score one more point before sealing a stunning come from behind victory with a disguised drop shot at Ginting’s right front court.
This was Momota’s third title in his fourth finals from six tournaments in 2019.
“I think Ginting was playing better than me today, but I was able to control the match when he got tired,” said Momota.
“He told myself not to give up when I was trailing in the second set,” added Momota.
Prior to the 2019 title, Momota also won the 2015 edition which was also the first Superseries title of his career.
There was further success for Japan in the men’s doubles event as No. 3 seeds Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda overcame Indonesia’s No. 4 seeds and defending champions Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan 21-13, 19-21, 21-17 in 51 minutes to claim their first Singapore Open title.
